


Cold Love

by chelseaagain



Category: Dragonball, Dragonball Z
Genre: Awesome Bulma Briefs, Bulma - Freeform, Bulma takes care of Vegeta, Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, Cross-Posted on deviantArt, F/M, Genius Bulma Briefs, Pre-Android Saga, Protective Bulma, Saiyan Prince Vegeta, Saiyan Vegeta, Sick Character, Sick Fic, Sick Vegeta (Dragonball), The Android Saga, Three Year Gap, Three Years Later, Vegeta being Vegeta (Dragon Ball), Vegeta gets sick, sic fic, sick vegeta, the three years, vegeta - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-20
Updated: 2020-09-20
Packaged: 2021-03-08 02:48:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,013
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26558413
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chelseaagain/pseuds/chelseaagain
Summary: Vegeta and Bulma get snowed in and Vegeta gets sick for the very first time. Categories: Bulma/Vegeta, DBZ, One-shot, Sickness, The Three Years.
Relationships: Bulma Briefs & Vegeta, Bulma/Vegeta
Comments: 2
Kudos: 20





	Cold Love

Short Summary: Vegeta and Bulma get snowed in and Vegeta gets sick for the very first time. Categories: Bulma/Vegeta, DBZ, One-shot, Sickness, The Three Years.

I do not own Dragon Ball Z or any of it's characters. They are the exclusive property of Akira Toriyama. This is my very first fan fic so please don't judge too harshly but please enjoy and tell me what you think! Extremely minor language warning but nothing you wouldn't hear on TV. This is a work in progress so it may change or get added to as time goes on.

-Cold Love-

It had been a long day at the Capsule Corporation compound, and a certain saiyan prince had just finished another grueling session of rigorous training. The gravity chamber was consistently as cold as ice inside now a days, due to West City being in the dead of winter as well as a busted heater system. He hadn't eaten a thing for hours that day, but if he wanted to have a chance to defeat the coming androids, reach the level of Super Saiyan, and finally defeat his rival Kakkarot once and for all Prince Vegeta was going to have to ignore his discomfort and keep training no matter how difficult it would be to do so. It was late at night when he finally powered down the machine and went back inside. Despite not eating so much as a single morsel since early that morning, Vegeta was not feeling hungry enough to want to eat anything. Though highly unusual for him, the prince ignored this fact and made his way towards his room. On the way there, he noticed lights on in the kitchen and decided to investigate. It turned out to be the afro headed, blue haired heiress Bulma preparing to make food for herself.

"What are you doing woman"?

"Oh, hey there Vegeta. I was working late down in the labs and thought I should make dinner for myself. I'm making some pasta. Would you like some? You must be starving after training for so long". Vegeta smirked.

"I'm not hungry and I don't want anything that you would try to cook by yourself unless I wanted to be poisoned".

"Hey my cooking is great! And besides this isn't my recipe! It's from a premade jar I got at the store". As she said this Bulma was thinking about how strange it was that Vegeta wasn't hungry. "Hey could you do me a favor"? His smirk changed to his usual grumpy expression.

"Stupid Woman, the prince of saiyans does not do petty favors. Besides I'm already helping you weak earthlings defeat the androids when they come. I didn't agree to do anything else".

"Hey you jerk you don't even know what I was going to ask you! I was just wondering if you could open this jar for me? It seems to be stuck. Yamcha is still out so he can't open it for me, and I just don't have enough strength to do it myself"! Even though Bulma and Yamcha had broken off their romantic relationship for good a few weeks ago, he was still her friend and she allowed him to stay at the compound while he trained to help defeat the androids. He had decided to visit the Kame house and spar with Krillin for a few days.

While Vegeta would have normally mocked her and reveled in the fact that she admitted how weak she was, something about seeing that defeated look on the woman's face instead of seeing that fire in her eyes made him feel strange inside. He tried to pass the feelings off as his mind being exhausted from training, but he just couldn't understand why seeing her disappointed in herself bothered him now when it never had before. He decided to end the matter once and for all by reaching out, taking the jar, opening it, and placing it back in her hands. Then he walked out of the kitchen, leaving her standing there with a stunned look on her face. (Thinking):"Did he just do something nice for me?"

Early the next morning, Vegeta woke up knowing that something was wrong with him. He felt weak. Every muscle was practically throbbing with pain, his nose was runny, his throat was sore to the point that it felt raw, his head hurt, his core body temperature was higher than it should have been, and he was nauseous.(Thinking): "What the hell is wrong with me!?" After some time he realized what it might be. (Thinking): "No no no! There's no way I can be sick! Not now! I'll be done for!" He remembered all too well how back in Frieza's army lower ranking soldiers would sometimes use the sicknesses of others to their advantage by killing their superiors while they were weak, so they could move up the ladder. He also remembered that anyone who was too weak to defend themselves, even temporarily, was considered worthless unless they miraculously managed to heal quickly without being murdered in their sleep. That's why he had always taken great care when it came to making sure he never got sick, and why he avoided sick people to the best of his ability. But now that sickness had finally befallen him, the prince feared that something similar would happen to him.

(Thinking):"That woman knows that if I wanted to I could destroy this planet, and I'm always bossing her around. I'm a threat to her and she hates my guts. If she discovers that I'm too weak to defend myself, that wench may realize that her idiot ex-boyfriend or even she could take me out once and for all! No, I can't let her find me sick! I'll wait until she leaves for work, then I'll go hide out somewhere until whatever this is passes".

However, just as he had finished planning all of this out the prince realized that he could hear Bulma speaking on the phone.

"WHAT!? The snow was so bad last night that every road in the city is closed!? That's no good! ...What? She also said the department of public safety has issued a notice that the snow is too dangerous for planes to pass through... declared the city a temporary no fly zone!? That's just awful! None of the employees will be able to come in today! Send out a notice that everyone has the day off. No one is going to work in this weather including me!" She hung up the phone and continued talking to herself. "Since Yamacha decided to stay the night at the kami house and my parents are still away at that conference, that means I'm stuck here alone with Vegeta all day. This is just GREAT!" Vegeta's heart dropped straight into his already nauseous stomach at hearing this.

(Thinking):"Not good. If the woman doesn't leave that mean she'll be here all day! I have to leave before she sees me like this!"

Bulma was walking down the hallway in the direction of his room. The prince attempted to pretend like he was asleep to prevent her from coming in to see him as she passed, but a strange pressure and a sensation like fire began filling his nose. Unable to hold it back anymore, he let out a ginormous sneeze just as Bulma was passing his doorway.

"Vegeta were you just sneezing? You're not getting sick are you?"

"I'm fine. Leave me alone". He tried to make his statement sound as normal as possible, but even he could hear how raspy he sounded. He sneezed again.

"You don't sound fine! Vegeta I think you've picked up a virus!"

"I said I'm fine woman… See for yourself". he then attempted to stand, but his legs were shaking and his head started to spin. Vegeta's legs buckled and he collapsed forward onto the floor as a moan escaped his lips.

(Thinking):"She knows. I can barely stand and I feel as if all my energy has been sucked out of me. I'm completely at her mercy now".

"VEGETA ARE YOU ALRIGHT!?" Bulma quickly kneeled down by his side and attempted to place a hand to his forehead. Vegeta responded by flinching away from her.

"No! Stay back! Don't touch me!" Bulma could have sworn she had heard the smallest twinge of fear in his voice. Her suspicions were confirmed when she tried again and noticed the never before seen emotion flash in his eyes.

(Thinking):"This is completely uncharacteristic of him! Is he afraid of ME? Doesn't he realize I'm trying to help him? Could he actually be thinking that I would try to hurt him? Is it possible that he's never been sick before and has never experienced what it feels like to have someone else care about him?" Bulma's heart broke and her throat clenched as she thought this. She gently helped him sit up as he involuntarily winced from the pain he felt in his sore muscles. He was tense and the heiress knew it was because he didn't know what she was going to do to him, but he didn't have the strength to resist her. Slowly she reached out and hugged Vegeta.

"You don't have to worry about a thing Vegeta. I'm going to take care of you until you feel all better. Now, let's get you back in bed". Vegeta was shocked into speechlessness! He couldn't believe that Bulma was actually trying to HELP him!

(Thinking):"This doesn't make any sense! She hates me! She should be glad I'm suffering, not trying to help me recover! Why is she doing this? It's confusing me and her touch is… actually kinda nice. Wait a minute what am I thinking!?" Bulma put the prince's arm over her shoulder and hoisted him off of the floor, pulled the blankets back behind her, and sat him up on the bed. She lifted his legs up onto the bed next, and then she lowered his head onto the soft pillows as gently as she could as the prince searched her eyes with a look of amazement on his face. He saw no signs of an ulterior motive for her efforts or any trace of ill will against him. All he saw was concern, compassion, and caring, and all of it was directed toward him. Bulma placed the covers over him.

"Ok first off I think that you have a fever, so I'm going to go get a thermometer to check your temperature and then I'll be right back". Vegeta felt slightly disappointed that she had left the room, but she was barely gone for a minute and she came back just as she said she would. As soon as she entered the room Vegeta once again locked his eyes onto Bulma's. Vegeta let out another open mouthed sneeze as snot started dripping down his nose.

"Gross Vegeta! You're supposed cover your mouth when you sneeze!"

"Well how was I supposed to know that? I've never seen anyone do this "sneeze" before!" She rolled her eyes and handed him a tissue box. Once Vegeta was done cleaning up all the snot Bulma held up the thermometer.

"Vegeta I need you to open your mouth and keep this under your tongue for a few minutes. I need to get a few more things". Vegeta allowed Bulma to place the thermometer in his mouth and held it in place with his teeth. By the time she came back again and took a place sitting on the edge of the bed the thermometer started beeping. When she asked, Vegeta helped Bulma confirm that he indeed had a very high fever.

"Alright Vegeta, let's get you fixed up". The items on the night stand included a pitcher and glass of water, the thermometer case, a bottle of Dayquil, two bags of cough drops, a small bowl of ice water with rags, and what appeared to be a bag of earth candy that the prince had never seen before. Bulma then explained each item to him. The prince was almost impressed with how many items theses humans had created just to help with sickness, but he didn't let her know that. The candy was a bag of "gummy bears", which Bulma said he could have later if he could get some sleep. Vegeta sneezed again and started shivering.

"I think it's time I got some medicine into you". As she prepared a tablespoon of medicine the prince noticed it's foul odor and despite not seeing any sign in her eyes of wanting to kill him, wondered if it was actually poison.

"I know this doesn't smell like something you're supposed to swallow and it will taste just as bad, but I promise it is going to help you". She managed to convince him to swallow the foul tasting substance, which he quickly washed down by drinking almost the entire pitcher of water as fast as he could without choking. The heiress had to hold the pitcher for him while he tipped his head back. Bulma couldn't help but giggle at the funny display. After Vegeta had stopped gaging and once again allowed himself to relax, she soaked a rag in the bowl and softly placed it on the prince's forehead. Then she grasped his hand.

"There you go. Now try to get some sleep alright? I'll be right here if you need anything". Vegeta's pride would never allow him to admit it to anyone, but he was loving how nice it felt to be truly cared for by another for the very first time in his life, and how much he enjoyed the feeling of her hand in his. He fell asleep with a look that was almost like a smile on his face as the snow continued to fall outside.

As the Prince slept Bulma checked how the storm was doing and was left staring wide eyed at the huge snow drifts blocking the doors of the buildings nearby. She knew that herself and her sick houseguest had been snowed in and wouldn't be able to get anywhere till it melted. Suddenly she felt a chill and realized the heater had stopped running. She rushed as fast as she could to fix it but it still took long enough that the house had grown chilly as she worked. When she was done she rushed to Vegeta and was alarmed to see him lying on his side violently shivering in his sleep with gritted teeth! If that wasn't scary enough he seemed to be whimpering like he was scared of something. He was clearly having a fever induced nightmare! She had already piled all the spare blankets on him and couldn't think of what else to do to relieve him of the chills so she shimmied under the blanket and wrapped her arms around him. Bulma was surprised to feel him wrap his arms around her in return and pull her closer in an unbreakable embrace. She felt relief when after awhile his shivers subsided to a more controllable level and he sighed in relief. Feeling tired she decided to take a nap and fell asleep like that. Vegeta woke up briefly and wondered what she was doing. He couldn't think about it because his fever was making him too confused, so he just went back to sleep.

A few hours later, Vegeta was awakened by the strangest feeling in his esophagus. It felt as though something was trying to crawl out of him through his mouth. Vegeta tried to hold it back, but he just couldn't stop himself from vomiting into the trashcan that Bulma had placed beside the bed, and then he went into a coughing fit. Once he finished his head fell back and he shuddered.

"Ugh, I feel like crap! My throat feels like I swallowed acid and the scent is terrible". At this point Bulma sat up and rubbed the sleep from her eyes.

"Well thats what most people feel like after they vomit. The scent can't REALLY be that bad can it?"

"Well it's repulsive! I've never felt anything like this before."

After cleaning up the foul smelling object and giving Vegeta a cough drop to suck on, Bulma replaced the wet rag with a fresh one and sat on the edge of the bed again.

(Thinking):"Boy this bug is really hitting him hard. The poor guy is miserable." Bulma checked his temperature again a few minutes later and was delighted to see that it had gone down.

"Your temperature is improving and your voice seems to be coming back. That's a good thing. Hey, you wanna try eating some crackers? They might help your stomach". He nodded his approval and soon enough he was nibbling on saltines while he listened to Bulma tell tales of her past adventures with Goku and her friends to pass the time. The Prince was amazed at some of the stories he heard Bulma tell. The Prince admired her determination and brilliance and realized just how much she resembled the kind of mate he always imagined he would have wanted to be with if it had not been for the destruction of his home planet and his enslavement to Frieza preventing him from searching for someone suitable. But there was still something bothering him, and he couldn't hold it back anymore.

"Why are you doing this?"

"What?"

"Why are you helping me? I thought you hated me! You know I'm a threat to you and you can clearly see that in this state I am completely defenseless against you, and yet you insist on making sure that I recover. I want to know why!?" Bulma thought about this for a minute before responding.

"Because I believe in you". Vegeta was left stunned as she explained.

"Vegeta, I know that you've done terrible things in your past. I know how powerful you are, I know you've felt a lot of pain, and I know that you've seen some gruesome things that I couldn't even begin to imagine ever happening. But I know that deep down inside you there is good. I believe that you will come to like life on earth, and will come to appreciate how nice it is compared to the life you left behind. I believe that you will become a super saiyan and that you will be able to defeat the androids. You are one of the strongest people that I have ever meet, and I know that you are going to be strong enough to save our world. I think you could even become stronger than Goku if you worked hard enough. You're valuable to us Vegeta, and …. I care about you. I really do."

Before he knew it the prince's heart was beating faster and longing for Bulma's touch filled every fiber of his being. A new emotion he had never felt before started burning inside of him as he looked into her eyes. He had never felt this way about anyone he had ever meet before. He knew that the idea of someone else caring about HIM of all people should seem absurd but all the new thoughts coming to his mind told him otherwise. All he knew was that this woman had put her faith in him and he wanted to prove her right no matter what it took.

"Woman, I vow that I will obliterate any threat that comes your way, and that includes the androids. If you say you think I can become a super saiyan, then I'll surpass Kakkarot and become the strongest super saiyan in the universe!" Bulma was surprised and flattered at his proposal, and she had complete faith that he would keep his word. Bulma smiled at the prince.

"I know you will, but you can't do any of that while you're sick! Let's get you well again so you can keep training to beat those androids!" She was holding his hand as she said this, and he secretly loved every second of it.

Vegeta kept improving throughout the day. The snow storm's severity was finally subsiding as well. They spent the rest of the day telling stories of the past. The prince particularly enjoyed Bulma's story of when Captain Ginyu turned her into a frog. That had him laughing to the point of nearly crying. It also caused him to go into a coughing fit and caused Bulma to give him more medicine, leading to Vegeta once again downing almost an entire pitcher of water in one go. He was able to grab it off the table and tip it back himself this time. After she stopped laughing, Bulma noticed that it was getting late. She decided it was time for both of them to get some sleep.

"I think it's time we said goodnight. I hope that you will feel better in the morning".

"Yes..." he said. And after a brief pause he added: "Your assistance was greatly appreciated. No one has ever done something like that for me before even once in my entire life".

(Thinking):"Did Vegeta just thank me and admit that no one has ever helped him like that before?"

Bulma was slightly surprised and also saddened that her earlier suspicions about the prince never feeling another person's caring were correct.

"I'll be back in a minute". Bulma went to her room to clean up and get ready for bed as fast as she could. Then she came back and just couldn't help herself from giggling a little bit at how cute Vegeta looked all snug in the blankets, even though she knew he wouldn't like that thought very much.

"I'm gonna go to sleep now if you're alright. Is that ok?" But to her surprise he was already out like a light. She smiled as she turned off the light.

Bulma went into the kitchen the next morning and was pleasantly surprised when she found Vegeta rummaging through the refrigerator looking for something to eat for breakfast.

"Looks like you recovered quickly! Must have only been a 24-hour bug!"

"Hmm. Of course I did woman! Nothing keeps the prince of saiyans away from his training for long."

"Well obviously not. Now get out there and train so you'll be able to kick some android ass!"

"Unfortunately I can't do that until you fix the blasted heating system in that damn Gravity Room!"

"Excuse me but if it weren't for me you wouldn't have that gravity room in the first place!"

They continued to argue as they so often did, but there was something different about it today. While he still annoyed her and she still sent retorts his way, the prince was being careful not to say anything that would make her feel inadequate or unskilled, and the heiress was careful not to say anything that would make him feel like someone who could only be bad. Each person realized that even though they drove each other crazy, they liked having each other in their lives, and neither one wanted to push the other out. In their own way, they were showing each other that they didn't want the other to leave them. This was something that they had never done before, but once they started doing this, they would never stop as long as they both lived.

(Well that's it! Hope you enjoyed that! By the way... Why the gummy bears? It is a REAL and proven fact that gummy bears help your throat and voice and feel fantastic on soar throats! Gummy bears are a vital resource to singers, speakers, and sick people everywhere that I have had experience utilizing on multiple occasions, especially since I am a singer myself and know the importance of keeping your throat feeling good for a performance even if you are sick. They are also delicious. I hope I just made your lives easier and taught you something useful! Don't eat too many or you could get a stomach ache!)


End file.
